Rachel Weisz's 'exaggerated' L'Oreal ad banned

Rachel Weisz's campaign for L'Oreal's age-defying beauty products has been banned for using digitally enhanced or airbrushed image to even out complexion

Rachel Weisz's campaign for L'Oreal's age-defying beauty products has been banned for using digitally enhanced or airbrushed image to even out complexion.

Rachel Weisz

The Oscar winning actress, who has earlier taken a stand on the theme of natural beauty, has even suggested a ban on the use of Botox by fellow celebrities.

But on Wednesday, the Advertising Standards Authority(ASA) announced a ban on the magazine advertisement for L'Oreal's Revitalift Repair 10 which features her.

It ruled the image 'misleadingly exaggerated' the performance of the product, the Daily Mail reported.

The pronouncement has been welcomed by Lib-Dem MP Jo Swinson, who is campaigning against the use of airbrushing and unrealistic images of beauty in advertising. L'Oreal defended the way the image of the actress had been altered.

"The ad sought to represent Rachel Weisz as favourably as possible and therefore every effort had gone into ensuring the most flattering set-up," the firm said.

"Rachel Weisz had been professionally styled and made-up and then lit and shot by a professional photographer in a studio setting.

"The photo was shot using a lot of light in order to make the picture more flattering and to reduce the appearance of imperfections in the ensuing image by giving the image a soft focus and lower resolution."

The company owned up that the image had been eventually retouched. "We considered that the image had been altered in a way that substantially changed her complexion to make it appear smoother and more even," the ASA said.

"We therefore concluded that the image in the ad misleadingly exaggerated the performance of the product," it added.